Pols Sci 4440 Final Review: Legal Concepts and Procedures

Common vs Civil Legal Systems

Common law relies on judge-made law and precedent, while civil law relies on comprehensive, codified statutes.

Case Law

The collection of precedents and authority set by previous judicial decisions on a particular issue or topic.

Statutes/Codes

A statute is a formal written law enacted by a legislative body, such as parliament or Congress. Codes are a collection of laws organized by subject matter that are currently in force.

Constitutions

A set of principles that outlines a government's structures, powers, and responsibilities.

Civil vs. Criminal

Civil law involves disputes between individuals, businesses, or organizations, often seeking compensation for damages or other remedies. Criminal law, on the other hand, concerns offenses against the state with the goal of punishing and potentially rehabilitating offenders.

Jurisdiction

The court's authority to hear and decide cases within an area of the law or geographic territory.

Original vs. Appellate

The original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when the court has the power to review a lower court's decision.

Question of Fact

Resolved by a trier of fact, i.e., a jury, or at a bench trial, a judge, weighing the strength of the evidence and the credibility of witnesses.

Questions of Law

Are always resolved by a judge → involve the interpretation, application, or determination of legal principles.

Civil Cases: Parties- Plaintiff & Defendant

The plaintiff is the person(s) who has alleged that the wrongdoing has been done to them. The defendant is the person(s) or entity that has been accused of committing a wrongful act.

Causes of Action

The legal basis for a lawsuit, a set of facts that, of proven, would entitle a person to legal remedies against another party. It essentially identifies the legal wrong or violation that allows someone to seek redress in court.

Complaint

The initial pleading filed by a plaintiff (the party bringing the lawsuit) that initiates a lawsuit against a defendant (the party being sued). It outlines the plaintiff's claims, the legal basis for the lawsuit, and the relief sought from the court.

Burden of Proof

The obligation to prove one's assertion.

Preponderance of the Evidence

The evidence presented must be more likely than not to be true.

Damages

Monetary compensation that a plaintiff seeks and may receive from a defendant.

Compensatory

Damages awarded by a court equivalent to the loss a party suffered.

Punitive

Damages assessed to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit.

Criminal Cases: Parties- Prosecution and Defense

Prosecution refers to the government's effort to prove a defendant's guilt in a criminal case, while the defense refers to the actions taken to protect the accused person's rights and advocate for their innocence.

Law-Criminal Statutes

A criminal statute is a law, written and enacted by a legislative body (federal, state, or local) that defines and prohibits specific criminal offenses, their elements, and the associated penalties.

Actus Reus

Action or conduct which is a constituent of a crime.

Mens Rea

The intention or knowledge of wrongdoing that constitutes part of a crime, as opposed to the action or conduct of the accused.

Burden of Proof (Beyond a Reasonable Doubt)

The highest legal benchmark that requires the prosecution to establish the defendant's guilt to such an extent that a reasonable person would have no reason to question it.

Aggravating Factors

Circumstances surrounding a crime that can increase its severity and lead to a harsher sentence, e.g. victim age or weapon used.

Mitigating Factors

Circumstances presented in court to lessen the severity of a crime or punishment, e.g. lack of prior criminal record or mental illness.

Affirmative Defenses

Legal justification or excuse offered by the defendant after the prosecution has presented evidence of guilt.

Self-Defense

Defendant bears the burden of proving that their actions were justified to protect themselves or others.

Opening Statements

Outline what the attorneys intend to prove, the evidence they will present, and the overall narrative of their case.

Witness Testimony

Oral evidence given under oath, used to establish the facts of the case.

Direct Examination

The Purpose is to collect information and evidence supporting that party's case.

Cross-examination

The opposing lawyer questions a witness who has already testified, usually to challenge their credibility or testimony.

Redirect

After cross-examination, the original lawyer can ask more questions to clarify confusion or correct any damage caused during cross-examination.

Recross

The opposing lawyer can ask one more round of (leading) questions, but only about topics brought up during redirect.

Closing Argument

Lawyers summarize the case, highlight key points, and argue how the evidence supports their argument.

Jury Deliberations

The process where jurors privately discuss the evidence and arguments presented in a trial to reach a verdict.

Verdict Announcements

The formal decision reached by a jury or judge at the end of a trial or legal proceeding.

Stipulations

Voluntary agreements made between the lawyers or parties involved in a case to streamline the legal process.

Witness Statements

Written document in which a witness describes what they saw or heard about an event, typically a crime or legal issue.

Exhibits

Refer to physical or documentary evidence presented to the judge and jury to support a case's argument.

Statutes & Case Law

Both provide an outline of the legal arguments both sides may make at a trial.

Jury Instructions & Verdict Forms

Jury instructions provide summaries of the relevant statutes and case law.

Rules of Evidence

Determine what information is admissible in legal proceedings.

Admissibility

The quality of being accepted or valid, especially as evidence in a court of law.

Objections

A formal protest made by a partie’s attorney against evidence, testimony, or a question from the opposing side.

Substantive vs. Nonsubstantive

Substantive questions challenge the admissibility of evidence or testimony based on rules of evidence. and questions are those that don't delve deeply into a topic or seek to understand its core aspects

Sustained vs Overruled

Sustained means that the judge agrees to the objection while overruled means the judge does not agree with the objection.

Relevance

Having some value or tendency to prove a matter of fact significant to the case.

Unfairly Prejudice

Evidence, while relevant, is so likely to unfairly sway the judge or jury to decide on a case on an improper basis.

Lack of Personal Knowledge

Witness is unable to demonstrate that they actually experienced or observed the event they are testifying about.

Hearsay

Information received from other people that one cannot adequately substantiate; rumor.

Undisputed vs. Disputed Facts

Undisputed facts are those that are agreed upon by both sides of the case, while disputed facts are those that are contested.

Context and Identification

Ask the witness questions to clarify the exhibits identity, such as "Do you recognize what has been marked as Exhibit A?"

Production of the Exhibit

Produce the exhibit, showing it to the witness and counsel, and, if necessary, obtaining permission to approach the witness.

Laying the Foundation

Establish the exhibit's authenticity and relevance, e.g., "What is it?" or "How do you recognize what is depicted in this photo?"

Demonstrating Relevance

Show how the exhibit relates to the case and supports your argument. Might involve explaining the exhibit's purpose or how it helps the witness explain his testimony.

Admissibility

Once the foundation is laid, you can formally move for the exhibit to be admitted into evidence.

Credibility of Witnesses

A witness who comes across as competent and worthy of belief. Their testimony is assumed to be more than likely true due to their experiences, knowledge, training, and sense of testimony.

Nonleading Questions

Open ended questions → ask about who, what, when, where, why?

Narrative Response

Must avoid; an answer that goes beyond a specific question.

Opinion

Witnesses other than experts are generally limited to giving opinions that are rationally based on their own perceptions; they may not characterize the events.

Refreshing Recollection

"In most cases, you will be refreshing a witnesses memory using her own prior testimony" p.70

Identification

In a criminal case, the government (prosecution) must prove that the person sitting in the courtroom is in fact, the very person who has been named in the charging document and the person who committed the crime.

Drawing the Sting

Bad information will be less damaging if the witness offers and explains it herself on direct rather than giving opposing counsel the satisfaction of bringing out for the first time on cross-examination.

End with a Clincher

"Every examination should end with a clincher- a single fact that encapsulates your trial theory or theme.

Ethics (DE)

Counsel should refrain from attempting to elicit information that has no reasonable basis of admissibility; eliciting unreasonable inferences (mock trial only).

Foundations

The attorney offering the evidence must show that there is some basis for believing the evidence to be relevant, authentic, or admissible.

Relevance

Must make a disputed fact of the case more or less likely to be true.

Authenticity

Requirement of proof that evidence is what the proponent claims it to be.

Conditional Admissibility

A piece of evidence is initially deemed irrelevant but becomes admissible if a specific supporting fact is later proven.

Testimonial Evidence

Personal Knowledge: The most common sort of personal knowledge is direct sensory perception: information gained through sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

Conversation that Occur in Person

Before a witness can testify to an in-person conversation he had with another person, foundation must establish the data, time, and place of the conversation, as well as the person present at the time.

Conversations that Occur over the Phone

Includes the additional elements of voice identification or of a reasonable circumstantial substitute. For instance, a witness can testify that he recognized the voice of the person he spoke to because he had spoken to that person before or since the incident.

Prior Identification

Refers to a witness's testimony about identifying someone (like the defendant) on a previous occasion, such as at a lineup or showup, and then recognizing them again at trial.

Habit and Routine

Testimonial evidence of habit or routine may be admitted as circumstantial evidence that a person or organization acted in a similar fashion on a particular occasion.

Character or Reputation

Evidence of a person's character generally is not admissible to prove that he acted in conformity therewith on a particular occasion.

Other Crimes or Past Misconduct

Other than in cases involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor, evidence of past crimes or other wrongful conduct is not admissible to prove the occurrence of a specific subsequent event.

Reputation for Untruthfulness

Evidence of a person's reputation for truthfulness is admissible if it reflects on the credibility of another person's testimony as a witness in the trial, i.e. it gives the jury a reason to doubt the witnesses' testimony is truthful.

Foundations for Hearsay Statements

Numerous exceptions to the hearsay rule allow for the admissibility of out-of-court statements, provided that the necessary foundation is established.

Party Admissions

If a person involved in the case (a party) says something outside of a court that goes against their own side, that statement can be used as evidence.

Present Sense Impression

If someone describes what they're seeing or experiencing in the moment, or just seconds after, it can be used in court- even if they're not testifying.

Excited Utterance

Allows for the admission of a hearsay statement that relates to a startling event or condition and is made while the declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by the event or condition.

State of Mind

A rule that allows a person to testify about what someone said to show how that person was feeling or thinking at the time (like being afraid, angry, or planning something).

Dying Declaration

A statement made by someone who believes they are about to die, about the cause or circumstances of what led to their death. It's allowed in court even if it would normally be hearsay because people are thought to tell the truth when they know they're dying.

Real/Tangible Evidence

Tangible objects that played an actual role in the events at issue in the trial.

Demonstrative Evidence

Did not play an actual role in the events underlying the case but are used to illustrate or clarify a witnesses testimony, e.g. diagrams, map of a crime, timeline of events.

Documentary Evidence

Evidence on paper or in a file, like a letter, contract, email, text, message, photo, video, or police report, that shows or supports facts in a case.

Offering into Evidence

To "publish" an exhibit is to communicate its contents to the fact-finder. Exhibits may be published in a variety of ways.

Specific Foundation Issues

Foundations for various types of real, demonstrative, and documentary evidence.

Real Evidence

Must be shown to be relevant and authentic.

Chain of Custody

Establishes the location, handling, and care of an object between the time of its recovery and the time of the trial. A chain of custody must be shown whenever an exhibit is not uniquely recognizable and was not specifically marked as in the example above, or when an exhibit's physical properties are in issue.

Photographs

The basic foundation for the admission of a still photograph is that it "fairly and accurately" portrays the scene shown.

Illustrative Evidence

Exhibits that are insufficiently accurate to be allowed into evidence may still be used for illustrative purposes.

Authentication

The authentication of documents typically requires proof of authorship or origin and may also call for proof of transmission or receipt.

Handwriting & Signature

May be authenticated through a variety of means, e.g. a witness may authenticate her own handwriting or signature.

Business Records

If a business (like a hospital, bank, or store) regularly keeps records as part of its normal work, those records can be trusted enough to use in court- even if the person who wrote them isn't there to testify.

Public Record

If a government agency (like the police, DMV, or health department) creates a record as part of its official duties, that record can be used in court without needing the person who wrote it to testify.

Cross Examination

The process of questioning a witness in court by the opposing party.

Area of Expertise

Expert opinions are admissible where the expert's scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact in understanding the evidence or a fact at issue in the case.

Scope of Opinion

Experts can testify on any subject so long as it is within their area of expertise.

Bases for Opinion

An experts opinion need not be proceeded by an explanation of the underlying data. Also, the underlying data need not be admissible so long as it is the type of reasonably relied upon by experts in the same field.

Federal Rules of Evidence

A set of guidelines used in mock trial to make sure the trial is fair, by deciding what kind of evidence are allowed or not allowed.